The International Board (IFAB), the body responsible for football rules, decided on Wednesday that each competition can choose, without time limit, five substitutions per team in each match, instead of three.
Ifab’s technical advisory committee (FAP-TAP) “recommended that each competition can decide to increase the number of substitutions depending on the needs of its football environment,” explained the entity. She referred to the five-change rule, which was introduced in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic. The goal was to help teams deal more easily with competition schedules with many games, after the end of the stoppage of activities, due to the fight against the new coronavirus.
IFAB advisory panels recommend making five-substitute option permanent
➡️ News release: https://t.co/mqrrEm1aER pic.twitter.com/Giz6eONViq
— The IFAB (@TheIFAB) October 27, 2021
The change, an amendment to “rule 3” of football, was revised in May 2020 by Ifab and was, at first, temporary. Initially, it should end at the end of 2021 for club competitions and by July 31, 2022 for national team matches.
Temporary or permanent interruptions of several championships in the 2019/20 season due to the pandemic meant that the calendars were filled with games as soon as competitions could resume.
Ifab decided to extend the measure for a few months, until December 31, 2022, after “a global analysis of the current impact of covid-19 on football”.
Not all competitions opted for an increase in the number of substitutions per team. O English Championship it was the most prominent tournament to resist the change, although the English League Cup authorized all five substitutions from the round of 16 onwards.
Ifab also suggested that the number of windows to effect changes remain the same: three interrupts during the game, in addition to the others. This measure is often criticized by smaller clubs, who consider it benefits the big ones, who can count on larger squads in quality and quantity.
On the other hand, Ifab also announced that the implementation of the test of two specific replacements in case of concussions should be extended beyond August 2022, since the low number of incidents does not yet allow reliable conclusions to be observed.
These decisions have not yet been presented and validated at the entity’s General Assembly, which will be held in early March in Zurich.
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